De La Hoya seeks Pacquiao-Canelo fight

ABS-CBN News

Former boxer-turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya sought out Top Rank Inc.’s Bob Arum in an effort to arrange a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Mexican star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

De La Hoya returned to the helm as president of Golden Boy Promotions seven months after checking himself into rehab for substance abuse.

He is now making peace with his former promoter for a possible superfight between the Filipino superstar and the Mexican junior middleweight.

“Anything’s possible,” De La Hoya said in Lance Pugmire’s report to LA Times. “That’s one of the reasons I was extending the olive branch. The fans want to see these kinds of fights.”

Arum, for his part, said he is willing to settle his differences with De La Hoya, who rose to boxing superstardom while fighting under Top Rank.

“I’d be happy to talk to Oscar about any subject in boxing he wishes to talk to me about,” he said.

“All this baloney about a cold war has never really applied to Oscar and myself. We can talk about any subject in boxing rationally. … We might disagree on a particular point, but we can talk. I hope we’ll get together and have some significant meetings in the near future.”

The proposed Pacquiao-Alvarez bout could turn out to be a lucrative fight as Canelo enjoys a huge following in Mexico.

The weight, however, is expected to become a sticking point.

Although Pacquiao briefly held the WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) title, he currently campaigns as a welterweight (147 pounds). The Filipino fought Antonio Margarito for the WBC crown at a 150-pound catchweight in 2010.

Just recently, boxing coach Freddie Roach announced that he wants Pacquiao to return to 140 pounds.

Alvarez last 12 fights, on the other hand, all took place in the junior middleweight division.

The last time he went lower than the junior middleweight limit was when he fought -- and lost to -- Floyd Mayweather Jr. at a catchweight of 152 pounds in 2013.